BT pens Sky Sports deal

British Telecom (BT) has agreed a deal that will see it show more Premier League matches next season after it signed a contract with BSkyB for the supply of two Sky Sports channels.

The deal follows regulator Ofcom’s ruling that BSkyB must sell its premium sports content to rivals at regulated prices.

BT on-demand digital television customers will now be able to view Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 from 1 August, in time for the new Premier League Season.

Chief Executive of BT Retail, Gavin Patterson, said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone, which means that we can be certain of offering Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 to our customers before the football season kicks off. We know our customers will be keen to sign up for the two channels.”

The price to BT cusotmers will be announced shortly, but it has also promised to undercut its rivals by offering a package which includes both Sky Sports channels and ESPN – the other channel which shows live Premier League matches – at less than £20 a month.